Honduran Art Exhibit On Display at VisArts

To kick off the 10th Annual Maryland Hispanic Business Conference (MDHBC), which is a joint collaboration of the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of Maryland, Baltimore and Montgomery County, in close cooperation with government agencies, the planning committee has organized a Honduran art exhibit open to the public for five days and a VIP reception to honor sponsors, speakers, media partners and planning committee members.

Open from Aug. 22 to Aug. 26, 2011 in the Kaplan Gallery at VisArts, the exhibit features over 20 paintings from the private collection of Jerry Godwin, this year's MDHBC Chair, private American art collector and entrepreneur. The exhibition, "Honduras Art Unveiled from the Godwin Collection - A Continuum of Artistic Expression," includes work from contemporary artists, including: Carlos Garay, Elias Diaz, Benigno Flores, Maury Flores, Ciseron Bautista, Ramon Garay, Maltez and Dino Fanconi.

Maryland Leiutenant Governor Anthony Brown will deliver remarks during the exhibition opening and reception on Thursday in the VisArts Kaplan Gallery.

“We are delighted to host our conference supporters in a creative environment that showcases Latin American art.  This is an outstanding way to kick off our 10th Annual Conference activities and Hispanic Heritage Month,” Godwin said.

A Business Development Specialist with the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, Godwin has been collecting American art for the past 15 years.

"My mother, who is from Honduras, always had paintings in the house. She gave me some of her paintings and since then I have been collecting. I've met all the artists personally, and this collection is really a part of my heritage," Godwin said.

The breadth of pieces in Godwin's collection date from the early 1990s on and demonstrate a variety of approaches to oil painting by internationally renowned Honduran artists whose works are in the collections of the World Bank, United Nations, Vatican, Spanish Royal Family, Organization of American States and Inter-American Development Bank.

According to Godwin, Ciseron Bautista, the youngest painter in the group, painted a small portrait of Godwin and gave it to him during a studio visit in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.

Perhaps the best known of the artists in Godwin's collection, Carlos Garay was active from the 1950s on and painted in the style of the Impressionists. He used a palette knife for most of his vibrant landscapes, which focus on the Honduran countryside. The exhibit features one of his original palette knives with an inscribed dedication.

"I started collecting with Garay. For decades you would mostly see only landscape painting from Honduran artists," explained Godwin, providing some insight into the works. "Garay paints with a spatula. Dino Fanconi wrinkles his canvases before painting on them. Maltez never shows the full face of his figures. Maury Flores is a popular artist, and his style is easy to pick out. Ciseron Bautista and Beningo Flores are largely self-taught. The UN comissioned Flores to do a massive painting. His trademark peace doves are on Honduran stamps. Elias Diaz paints small heads on big bodies and says that they are representative of man. Most of these artists studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de Honduras." 

Exhibit hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m .to 5 p.m.

Last year's Maryland Hispanic Business Conference drew over 500 attendees. According to Lorna Virgili, President of the National Hispanic Communications Group, last year's Conference Chair and a member of this year's Planning Committee, this year the conference is getting even bigger.

Scheduled for Sept. 6 at the North Bethesda Marriot and Conference Center, the MDHBC has served over 20,000 businesses since its inception. This year's guest list has already reached 300 with more time left over for registration. The MDHBC Planning Committee estimates that attendance will top 700.

"The MDHBC has been held in Baltimore traditionally. We are delighted that this year's venue is in Montgomery County," said Virgili. "The conference offers eight workshops and features 50 panelists from local, state and federal agencies."

This year's confirmed speakers include: Maryland Leuitenant Governor Anthony Brown, Montgomery County Executive Isaiah Leggett, Congressman Christopher Van Hollen, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Secretary Alexander Sanchez, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Washington Metropolitan Area Alejandra Castillo and Montgomery County Department of Economic Development Director Steve Silverman. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Christian S. Johannsson await confirmation.